VIDEO: Plowing through

The supercarrier USS Kitty Hawk, launched in 1960, was 1,068 feet with a 282-foot beam and a 38-foot draft that displaced 81,985 long tons fully loaded.

In March 2008 the 1,068-foot supercarrier Kitty Hawk ran into heavy weather in the Sea of Japan, and an opportunistic sailor documented the view from the bridge.

Click play to view footage of the rough seas.

Note the chopper on the ship’s bow. Keep in mind that the Kitty Hawk’s flight deck stands some 60 feet above the ship’s waterline. The pilot of that Sikorsky SH-60F had just landed, and his aircraft was tied down because seas were too rough to move it to a safer place, according to NavSource.org, a Naval history website.

The helo suffered only minor damage.

Launched in 1960, the Kitty Hawk was decommissioned in May 2009. Since then the carrier has been maintained by the Navy in Bremerton, Wash.